


Ӝ GOTH♢MOTH Ӝ

by Dreamwalker44



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Are you surprised?, Crack Treated Seriously, Dark Wave Music, Dib and Gaz in a Band, Dib sings too, F/M, I attempted a songfic with a dash of fluff, School Festivals, Songs and Stuff, ZaGrWeek2020, Zim Sings, but like he's kinda sucky, synthpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamwalker44/pseuds/Dreamwalker44
Summary: Dib really needed her help so she reluctantly said yes to his little... 'band situation', playing as his lead guitarist for the school festival. But of course she couldn’t even trust him to come up with a cool band name so yeah, maybe this will all go down in flames after all.
Relationships: Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim), Gaz/Zim (Invader Zim)
Kudos: 5





	Ӝ GOTH♢MOTH Ӝ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ㅡ To know what the actual songs sound like, just click the moths (Ӝ) below the lyrics for the link. Hope you enjoy ♡

◆•◆Ӝ◆•◆

They had ten days to come up with a good song for the festival and honestly Gaz figured there was never enough time to fix her brother's song writing ability. No, not with the sixteen 'demos' she had to go through. There was just not enough time to fix this mess.

So she slowly pulls down the headset from her ears, giving the most off putting face she could pull as said brother awaited her critique on demo number seventeen.

"This..." she starts. "Sounds like Scooby Doo."

"Wait... what?"

"You know, the theme song for Scooby Doo? It sounds like that."

It takes Dib a moment to process the notion when he asks his sister again.

"So, does it sound alright or...?"

And Gaz just sighs at that, looking more tired than she let on. They'd been at this for hours now, trying out different beats and intros to no avail so when she checks the time, she wasn't surprised to find out it was already half past midnight.

Yeah, it was time to call it a night.

"Okay... look Dib, I know you signed up just 'cause you wanted to beat Zim at this... this song contest and whatnot..."

She looks at her brother who was seated on his bed, fiddling with the mini synth's cord as he looked at her expectantly.

"But?"

She swallows, turns her gaze away, looking at the rest of the clatter of cords and synthesizers taking up the desk space and even the floor. She eyes her red guitar far up on the corner by the door and just sighs again.

"But I think you should just... I don't know, lay low for a while." She turned her gaze back, back to equally tired blue eyes.

"Relax for a bit. Maybe let some thoughts cool down and... pop up when need be."

"Pop... out?"

"Yeah. Inspiration just does that sometimes, you know?" She makes explosion gestures with her hand. "Pops out."

Dib seemed to frown at that so she elaborates.

"All I'm saying is that you don't need to force the right song out of your big head like this. Take time to process things then just... work with whatever's got you saying 'eureka' in the shower.... that sort of thing, you know?"

She sees her brother let go of the cord he was holding, releasing some tension from his shoulders which was a good enough sign for Gaz to take her leave.

"I guess we're done for the night?" She says as she goes to the door, grabbing the guitar.

"Yeah... yeah we're done." She hears him say, mumbling to himself as she was exiting.

"G'night Dib."

"Night Gaz."

She closes the door, hearing crazy typing noises come out from the room along with more mumbling sounds and light humming.

Gaz wasn't surprised.

When it comes to beating the alien's ass, she knew Dib to take on this strong front, working himself to the bone just to best the alien. And if it meant besting Zim at something as trivial as a singing contest, well hell if her brother would back down.

No, they were too petty and stupid, just plain ass d u m b to even back down.

She just hopes that whatever song Dib was writing now was worth the new game console he was gonna buy for her. After she played her part as his lead guitarist, then only then will she be free of this mess _and_ finally get her hands on a G.S-Lite.

◆•Ӝ•◆

_"I think about this song whenever i am alone, it goes "doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo"_  
_"what could go wrong? old enough to carry on. this bitter sweet thing called life, cut deep into my mind."_

[ _Ӝ_ ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HrjTkzkzk54)

There was several riffs until he ends it, pulling away from the microphone with the voice filter. He looks up at his sister almost too expectantly which... just makes Gaz pause for a few seconds to weigh in her words.

"Okay," she starts. "What the heck was that?" 

Dib just blinks up at her, adjusting his glasses as he dialed a few buttons on his instrument rather sheepishly.

"I was thinking we should, you know, do that for the performance, add a little flair toㅡ

"No."

"No?"

She shakes her head. "No."

Dib silently agrees at that, going back to his laptop to maybe meditate or think up a new song. Probably both. 

And Gaz just leaves him be, taking her guitar with her to maybe pluck a few strings in her room.

"..."

Okay, maybe it was time to work on the song herself. She's a bit rusty at all this but at this point anything's better than _"riding the astro van and going through the sky."_

Gaz groans, stops in her tracks then proceeds to go to the kitchen, making a beeline for the coffeemaker.

◆•Ӝ•◆

Everyone in school was busy with preparations for the Fall Festival. The halls are literally being decorated with autumn leaves and pine cones lined with twinkly fairy lights and other fall-themed decorations of the like. So Gaz had to navigate the many trash bags splayed on the floors as well as the gluegun-crazed teens busily sticking things to the walls before she reached a practice room that had no one in it.

And sweet, there was a piano here.

Yeah...

Yeah she could work with that.

Immediately grabbing the spiral notebook from her backpack, Gaz sits down in front of the piano by the window, casually flipping a couple pages. Most of them were filled with black splotches of crossed out verses, small notes gathering up the far corners in an untidy mess but she powers through them nonetheless.

Reaching the most recent entry, Gaz skims whatever she had written the night prior, instantly feeling regret as she read it, wondering why she even bothered to help Dib write his song anyway.

Apparently her caffeine-induced writing had been so wonky she ended up writing some sort of... love song.

??

Gaz sighs and places the notebook on the music stand anyway. She positioned her hands on the keys and took several calming breaths.

_Might as well give this a try..._

Slow and steady, she plays the first verse and sings.

_"Oh, I feel so bad_  
_Whenever you feel down_  
_You throw your toys around_  
_Throw your toys around and you say_

_I don't want to be alone  
I wanna roll like I'm the only one  
I don't wanna be in love  
I wanna roll likeㅡ_

[ _Ӝ_ ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ykVMbiiac9Y)

_Bam._

The door behind her opens.

...

Someone clearly had a death wish today.

"You do know that this room was reserved by Zim this morning?" Asks the obnoxious voice that followed. "Couldn't you tell from this piece of paper hanging on the door, Gaz-human?"

Her piano playing comes to an abrupt end. And as she willed herself to face the newcomer with a cold, dead stare, Gaz found it harder and harder to stop herself from getting up from her seat and slapping that smug look off the Irken's face.

Because really, he looked like he wanted a good beating.

So instead she just gets her backpack and stands up, walking straight for the door. She didn't have time to argue right now, not when she was caught doing something...

_Something..._

_Bleh..._

"All yours, dipshit." Is all she had to say for the alien to give her a victorious smirk, not expecting her departure so quickly but definitely reveling in the fact that she relented nonetheless.

He gestures his gloved hands towards the hallway. "Likewise."

Gaz doesn't look back as she mutters a few curses to herself, oblivious to the fact that she left her notebook (which was filled with all her secret thoughts in song form, otherwise doubling as her diary) in the hands of the 'stupid green freak' she was cursing.

Rest assured, there was an utterance of "Oh shit" as soon as the last bell rang and a purple-haired teen all but raced out of the double doors in a fit of anger.

No one questioned the dark clouds forming in the horizon.

Not a soul.

◆•Ӝ•◆

The path to Zim's house wasn't that far from where the Membranes lived, just a few streets away and Gaz was in the neighborhood.

Though her intentions for visiting weren't the friendliest, Gaz behaved herself until she got to the front door, all but banging the thing loud enough to assure her presence was known.

To her dismay, it was Gir that answered the door, disguise-less and happily offering her a tray of 'food'.

"Where's Zim?" She asked, entering the house upon the robot's cheerful 'welcome'. She now stood in the middle of the living room where a giant TV played a too bright kid's show.

"Sleepin'. I gave him a piece of TOAST to cheer up."

"... Right."

The overhead lights in the ceiling where various vents and pipes stuck out had shifted to a different hue, indicating the main Computer's presence. Gaz looks up at them rather skeptically but made no move to comment.

 **[Master is currently down in the labs where he is 'practicing'.]** Says the machine, which was now inconspicuously bringing down two very odd-looking, very _large_ stereos from the floor to rest by the TV.

Gaz raises an eyebrow at that, about to question their presence when the Computer continues.

**[It's really funny. I can show you the feed right now andㅡ**

Her eyes go wide.

_What?_

"No!" Gaz cuts in immediately. A look of horror flashing in her eyes with the thought of catching a glimpse of Zim 'practicing'.

_No. **Hell** **no.**_

"You don't have tㅡ

But just like that, Zim's booming voice quickly engulfs the entire room like a raging storm. Gaz internally screams her protests, only managing to cringe at the display. The music was still blaring hard on the stereos so she rolls her eyes, having no choice but to watch the live feed playing on the TV.

And to make it oh so worse of an experience, the Computer was laughing along with the noise and Gir found himself bopping and dancing on the sofa as a small disco ball loomed over them in sparkling light and neon lasers.

Indeed this house was full of idiots.

Gaz had to sit this one down, unable to do anything but watch in displeasure as the oblivious alien sang what sounded like the most bizarre version of r&r ever.

_"Hurtful words,_  
_From my enemies of the last five years,_  
_What's it like to die aloooone?!!!_

_How does it feel when tears freeze,_  
_When you cry?!_  
_The blood in your veins is twenty beloooow!!!_

[ _Ӝ_ ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qXk_m8_Ir3k)

"...."

??

_What...._

_.... the actual..._

All she could say was that, _despite_ the strange messy melody and the strange sounds coming from his alien-guitar-thing, it actually sounded quite... fine. 

...

Which was weird considering Zim's talking voice was comparable to a sickly, talking cockroach that screeched a lot. But now... as she was hearing him 'sing'... she found out it didn't bother her quite as much.

To hear him... like that...

_Singing of all things...._

It was just too... different, and perhaps.... a little bit on the entertaining side if she had to admit.

Because it was clear that Zim was rocking to a song and enjoying his time by the looks of it.

"..."

_Holy shit._

Gaz couldn’t tear her gaze away as she stared at her oblivious competition in otherwise confused interest. Fortunately, Zim's candid jam session was cut shortly as soon as his antenna suddenly flicked up and he turned around, slowly meeting eyes with the living room's occupants on his screen.

He gives out a very familiar "oh shit" expression and just goes blank.

"Eh?"

At first the Irken just blinks a few times, slowly putting down the strange instrument he was holding.

Then the next moment he screams, dropping the thing all together, its loud clatter on the floor coming out of the stereo loud enough to snap the living room occupants from their musings.

And with that, Gir screams back a playful response saying, "WE GOTS YOU MASTAH! YEEHAWW!!!", giggling manically at the screen. The Computer was probably frying its circuits already with how much it laughed without remorse upon it's master's disposal.

But Gaz... she just remains seated on the couch, legs crossed and hands finding themselves slow clapping once the frantic giggling slowed down. She gave out a glare that reached confused and utterly embarrassed red eyes and that was enough for her to smirk back at the alien.

"That was one hell of a performance, Zim." She says with a voice that immediately made the room frost over, silencing everyone within the vicinity. "But I believe you have something that belongs to me."

She leans closer to the screen, her gaze never breaking eye contact with the slowly retreating Irken on the other side.

"I want it back."

◆•Ӝ•◆

Zim was freaking out.

He was internally screaming in Irken now.

Damn his insufferable minions. Except Minimoose. Damn them.

But most of all, damn that human! How dare she intrude in his house and make demands after she just blatantly watched his very serious, very _private_ music session which was, by the way, going along rather smoothly until she showed up. Once he gets back up there he'd gladly show her a piece of his mind.

...

But then he remembers her icy glare, the cold words she uttered that had made him shiver uncomfortably.

_"I want it back..."_

Zim clutches the notebook tightly in one hand and the strap of his mangled instrument with the other. He knew he was stepping on thin ice right now but he forces himself to get a move on.

_"You're an Invader. This is nothing to you. **She** is nothing to you."_

The elevator door opens and he's met with bright amber eyes. It stuns him for a second before he recovers with a scoff.

"Filthy human, _must_ you constantly ruin Zim's day with your presence? It was bad enough that you stole the room in which I practice but now to find you _spying_ of all things? My, you aren't so different from your stink-brother afterall."

"Look, it wasn't my fault I had to watch... whatever it was you did down there. You've got your stupid computer to thank for that." She lifts up her hand to him, gesturing at the notebook impatiently.

"Now, if you'd please stop being an idiot for a moment, I'd like this to be over with."

He's compelled to relent to her demands, aware of the doom she could unleash upon his household. But something holds him back, making him replace his expression to appear more intimidating, letting out a smirk of his own.

"And why would Zim do that?"

Something flashes in the other's eyes. Perhaps it was anger, he mused, knowing the human to be as prone to outbursts as himself. 

It only makes him smirk wider.

"Because we both know you won't stand a chance once I decide pummel you. It's that easy, Zim. Now give me my notebook."

He sighs and tosses the insufferable thing to the human who had caught it with a look of surprise. She gave him a quizzical expression before she opens to check if it was indeed her notebook. Satisfied, she then proceeds to put it back in her bag.

"A smart decision." The human states as she moved towards the door. "And since you're busy practicing whatever it was you're practicing, I better leave you to it."

He jogs up after her, meeting her as she was a step outside.

"If you think you could beat me at the contest, well I assure you human, there isn't the slightest chance."

She answers him with a dismissive scoff, rolling her amber eyes like she heard a joke.

"You know, it didn't sound like you knew what you were doing down there, didn't sound like you even knew how to sing. So no, I _don't_ think we could ever lose to you, Zim. Not with your weird music and that alien guitar of yours."

He reaches for the said object strapped on his shoulder, showing her it's mangled features.

"Well it's broken thanks to you."

Another scoff. "Not like that thing was helping you anyway."

His eye twitches, grip tightening on the handle.

"Mark my words, Gaz-human, you and your stink-brother will suffer defeat once I champion this horrid song contest. Remember this day as the last you will challenge the mighty ZIM!"

And she's walking away, giving him a lazy wave goodbye as she passed the dormant gnomes.

"Right... whatever, Zim."

The alien only stares at her retreating form, anger evident on his face as he slams his door shut. He didn't need her songs. He didn't need to follow their words to appeal to a human audience. All he had to do was simply win their hearts by creating his own song.

His own love song.

Err.... Whatever it is.

...

He'll figure it all out once he finds Gir's recorded MTV shows.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

◆•Ӝ•◆

End of Part 1 ⛥


End file.
